Retrospective Beloved
by Takeshi Yamato
Summary: When she almost died, he was forced to re-evaluate his feelings toward her. Ryusei Date/Mai Kobayashi. Rated M for later chapters. UP FOR ADOPTION.
1. Almost Shattered

**Retrospective Beloved**

**A Super Robot Wars Fanfic**

**By Takeshi Yamato**

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**Author's Notes:** **I first came up with the idea for this fic when I noticed a distinct lack of Ryusei Date/Mai Kobayashi Fan fiction in the FF.N Database, and I decided to try writing my own, since Ryu/Mai is one of my favorite pairings in Super Robot Wars.**

**This is set after **_**Super Robot Wars Original Generations Gaiden **_**and thus will most likely not agree with any canonical material established to happen afterwards (i.e. SRW OGS Endless Frontier EXCEED) or with the third Original Generation game (when/if it is produced).**

**Now, let's get this party started! :D**

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Chapter 1

Almost Shattered

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_Location: Infirmary of the _Space Noah_-Class Carrier _Hagane

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The steady beeping of the medical equipment was the only sound in the _Hagane's_ Infirmary as Mai Kobayashi lay unconscious in one of the beds in critical condition. Bandages were wrapped around her upper right arm, on her forehead, around her torso, and around her left upper leg, and an IV in her left arm supplied nutrients directly into her system.

In a chair at her bedside sat Ryusei Date, Ryu to his peers. Ryu was Mai's comrade in the SRX Team, and the man she had fallen for.

And, just a few short hours ago, Mai had almost died to save his life.

Ryu watched over Mai's unconscious form, worry in his eyes as he remembered how she had ended up in this condition…

* * *

_Several hours ago during the battle with Shu Shirakawa's Neo Granzon…_

* * *

_Dark Brain, the seeker of the twelve keys of cosmic power, lay dead._

_Shu Shirakawa had assumed his place, claiming that all obstacles to his way were now gone, and since it was no longer necessary to aid the warriors of the Hagane and the Hiryu, he declared his true purpose was to aid the Demon God Shiva Volkruss by offering up the souls of several hundred million people, and to begin his sacrifice, he had declared their lives would be forfeit._

_Of course, they objected, and he in turn had pitted himself in battle against them, and not long into the melee, the Siegerlion, Excellence Frames and the Grungust Sanshiki had been the first three victims of the Neo Granzon's Graviton Cannon, and while their pilots lived, their machines were now useless._

_However, their efforts had not been in vain, as the readings emitted off the Neo Granzon had revealed that to use its strongest attacks, its energy shielding weakened considerably (much like the late Bian Zoldark's Valsion had operated in fact), so since the SRX could not form due to damage sustained while fighting Dark Brain, Aya in the R-3 Powered and Ryusei in the R-1 joined Masaki in his Cybuster, Sleigh in her Calion, and Ibis in her Astelion in drawing his fire, using their maneuverability to evade his assaults while the heavy hitters among their ranks blasted away at the armored behemoth._

_Amazingly enough, the stratagem worked, but Shu Shirakawa had proven his genius credentials weren't just for show when he revealed that thanks to the Black Hole Engine installed in the Neo Granzon, he was able to regenerate his energy, so any advantage was very short lived if they slackened their pace even briefly, and as if that was not enough bad news, his Worm Hole Cluster attacks could open up dimensional gateways that spewed fire from multiple directions, ensuring even the quickest of their ranks could potentially be downed by his fire, forcing the more heavily armored of their number to have to "take a bullet" for their less sturdy allies while furiously counterattacking the Neo Granzon, hoping to whittle it down via sheer attrition while simultaneously trying to avoid lethal damage themselves._

_In short, their victory would not be attained cheaply, and even though the Granzon had sustained heavy damage, so had over half the team, and even Sanger's Daizengar and Fighter Roar's Compatible Kaiser had sustained grievous damage as they heroically threw themselves in front of their injured carrier ships._

_Thankfully, this turned out to be a boon to Masaki and Ryusei, who managed to evade the fire that had dropped their larger foes, and while Aya had Shu pinned down with her Strike Shields, Ryu and Masaki had proceeded to circle strafe their foe, trying to get his guard to degrade enough so his massively weakened armor could be breached and a fatal blow could be dealt._

_They had succeeded in forcing Shirakawa in moving his sword (which he had been using to parry direct assaults) away from his torso, and with that Masaki had immediately tried to carve out his cockpit block with his Discutter._

_Unfortunately, he and Ryusei (who was attacking Shu from behind to further disorient the bastard) were so hot blooded and dead-set on killing their foe they ignored the readings they were getting detecting a large energy buildup-_

_-or they did until Shu unleashed another Graviton Cannon blast that forced the Cybuster to fly backwards as quickly as possible to avoid the brunt of the damage, and Ryusei would've been caught in the conflagration, had Mai Kobayashi in the ART-1 not knocked him away and taken the blast for him._

_And so, as he flew backward, he got a horrifying view of watching the ART-1 seemingly crumple in on itself as the gravitic energy smashed into it full force, before seeing a massive explosion immediately follow._

_All Ryusei remembered after watching Aya's little sister die was a white killing heat, and as his rage far outstripped the madness the GEIM system could have inflicted on its best day, Psychodriver energy erupted off his R-1 like a torch as he flew forward, a massive drill shaped T-Link Knuckle leading the way, and as every Psychodriver still conscious felt an immense pressure on their minds, he bore into Shu screaming like a madman, seeing every moment he had spent in Mai's presence dance through his head like a fast forwarded kaleidoscope, and the last thing Shu saw before he found out if his god existed was Ryusei Date kicking reason to the curb as he literally obliterated his opponent's cockpit block, tearing through it like it was tissue paper and destroying Shu Shirakawa's body down to its component atoms at the same time._

_Moments later, the R-1's back was set against a massive explosion, and Ryusei might have just remained where he was in the air, screaming to the heavens in anguish, had he not felt a faint signal of Psychodriver energy from the fallen remnants of the ART-1's downed cockpit block, which snapped him out of his anguish just long enough to speed towards Mai, praying he would beat Death to his destination…_

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_Mai had been just barely clinging to life when Ryusei reached her, and he was almost frantic as he hurriedly returned to the Hagane carrying the ART-1's Cockpit Block. And once he'd brought Mai to the ship, he hovered around the rescue crews in worry as they pulled her out of the Cockpit Block and rushed her unconscious form to the Infirmary…_

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Ryusei now maintained a constant vigil at Mai's bedside, waiting for her to regain consciousness as he re-evaluated how he felt about her, as well as re-evaluating his outlook on relationships in general.

For most of Ryusei's life, he had made the conscious decision to not pursue a deep friendship or romantic relationship with anyone. Now, for this to make sense, his history must be explained.

To start off, Ryusei had grown up without a father, who had been a policeman who had died in the line of duty, and thus his only major parental figure was his mother, so partially by circumstance, he was very much a mama's boy. And, considering his mother had been born with frail health and he had spent his childhood seeing her in and out of hospitals all the time due to weakness and chronic illness, it had bred in him a strong belief, however irrational it may have seemed to others, that mortality was ultra-fleeting, and he had always dreaded the possibility that one day, his mother would collapse and it would turn out to be so bad doctors couldn't bring her back.

With that said, to say he was insecure would be a gross understatement, and due to this belief in the frailty of life, he had always been terrified of making deep relationships with anyone, friends or otherwise. Thankfully, this had been partially muted by his love of robot animation, which mostly extolled the virtues of love and camaraderie, so some of his more extreme insecurities were subconsciously derided and discredited, but there was still one he clung to with a vicious passion which had become apparent with the onset of puberty.

He was absolutely terrified of getting into a relationship.

No, he was not uninterested in women, and in fact was just as normal as any other male, though given how much his mother had always tried to raise him with a moral outset; he did try to refrain from treating women like sex objects. He also was very protective of women, which was partly a result of his own personal code of honor which said that they deserved protection, and partially because his upbringing had given him a belief that a woman needed someone to defend them if they could not defend themselves, though to his credit, reality had clued him to the fact not every woman was weak or frail, so he never was arrogant or naïve in this belief.

With that said, Ryusei was not blind, and he knew that Mai had feelings for him (as did Latooni Subota), but given his fear of relationships, he had done his best to feign obliviousness so he wouldn't have to disappoint them and make them unhappy by simply saying no.

And then Mai had almost died.

Ryusei's reaction to her supposed death (and his subsequent reaction upon discovering her survival) surprised him in its intensity, and told him that despite all of his best efforts, Mai had managed to find a way through his insecurities and into his heart.

The fact that it had taken her almost dying for him to realize this was not lost upon him.

And all he could do at the moment was stay by her side, maintaining a silent vigil and waiting for her to regain consciousness.

And once she did, he would do his best to make sure that no one ever harmed her again. Even if that involved lowering his defenses around her, facing his fears, and maybe, just maybe, doing what he could to get closer to her…

_**To be continued…**_


	2. Before My Dying Wish

**Retrospective Beloved**

**A Super Robot Wars Fanfic**

**By Takeshi Yamato**

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**Author's Notes: Here we are at Chapter 2.**

**Here, things start to advance slightly. We'll start with a brief scene in the Infirmary, showing just **_**how**_** constant Ryusei's vigil at Mai's bedside is. After that, well, you'll just have to wait and see.**

**Now, let's get this party started! :D**

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Chapter 2

Before My Dying Wish

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_Location: Infirmary of the _Space Noah_-Class Carrier _Hagane

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Two days after the battle with Shu, Mai's condition remained unchanged. Ryusei was still at her bedside, and was currently asleep in his chair.

The door opened, and Mai's older sister Aya walked in, carrying a tray of food. Aya smiled briefly as she saw Ryusei still sitting by her sister's side, and walked over to him. Tapping him on the shoulder to wake him up, she handed the tray to him as she said, "Breakfast time, Ryu."

"Thank you," Ryusei said as he took the tray without looking up. Even as he began to eat, his eyes never left Mai's unconscious form.

Aya pulled up another chair and sat next to Ryusei as she said, "You know, you haven't left her side at all for the past two days, even eating and sleeping in that chair. If I was in her position, I'd be flattered that someone cared for me that much."

Ryusei replied, "I just wish that it hadn't taken her almost dying for me to realize how much I cared about her. And she hasn't gotten any better yet, so there's the possibility that she might still die without knowing how I feel. I try not to think too much about that possibility."

Aya thought about that. "I see," she commented. "Well, I don't know if this will help any, but we'll be reaching Izu Base tomorrow, and the medical facilities there are much better than those here on the _Hagane_."

Ryusei nodded. It didn't help much, but it helped. All he could do now was continue his vigil, and hope Mai pulled through.

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_Two days later_

_Location: Izu Base Hospital, Mai's Room_

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Once the _Hagane_ had arrived at Izu, the only thing that changed was Mai being moved to a room in the Izu Base Hospital. Everything else about her situation (her condition, and the fact that Ryu continued to remain by her side 24 hours a day) remained the same.

Currently, it was around 6:00 AM. Ryu was in his chair, gradually waking up. One of the hospital nurses was going to be bringing him breakfast in about 15 minutes.

A low, feminine groan quickly brought Ryu fully awake, his gaze snapping over to Mai's face, and he could tell that she was slowly regaining consciousness, her head slightly shifting every few seconds.

"Mai," he called, his voice filled with a cautious hope.

Mai's eyelids fluttered open, revealing her sapphire blue eyes. She was honestly surprised to be alive, having resigned herself to death when she had saved Ryu during the fight with the Neo Granzon. Her eyesight focused, and she looked to the side of the bed, seeing her crush sitting in a chair beside her. Weakly, she said, "…Ryu?"

It took all of Ryu's willpower to avoid enthusiastically embracing her as tears of joy fell from his eyes. She was awake. She was finally awake!

That said, his cries of exultation proved to be so loud they brought doctors and nurses running from all over the hospital worried for a second they thought one of their patients had just coded (as soon as they had all regained their hearing, that is).

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Mai slowly but steadily continued to recover, the doctors and nurses monitoring her very closely to ensure that she didn't strain herself and accidentally undo any progress made. Ryu helped them as best he could while remaining at Mai's bedside, refusing to leave her side even after she had regained consciousness.

Their other friends visited often, as well, and Mai was glad to see them, but she was amused and glad at how Ryu hadn't left her side, even when he was eating or sleeping.

By the end of the first week, Mai was able to stay awake for several hours at a time, and could even hold medium-length conversations, most of them with Ryu as the two of them discussed topics ranging from weather to robots to Ryu's childhood. Mai's childhood _**would**_ have been one of the topics, but most of her memories from before joining the SRX Team were from the time when she was Rebi Torah, and neither of them was all that comfortable bringing it up (and understandably so), so the topic was avoided.

By the end of the second week, Mai was able to sit up for a couple of hours at a time, could hold extended-length conversations, and was even able to eat without assistance, although Ryu continued to eat with her.

The topics of conversation between Ryu and Mai continued to grow more and more varied, and they eventually got around to discussing what had happened during the fight with the Neo Granzon…

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"So, Shu's dead?" Mai asked.

"Yeah," Ryu replied. "I made sure of that. After I thought you had died saving me, killing him was the only thing on my mind. It was only after I had done so that I caught a faint trace of psychic energy emanating from the ART-1's remains, indicating your survival."

"I guess I'm lucky that you were able to sense that, then," Mai commented, chuckling. Ryusei joined her with some light laughter.

"To be honest," Mai added in a more serious note after the laughter died down, "I wasn't really expecting to survive that."

"What?" Ryu asked, flabbergasted that Mai could think such a thing.

"I knew you couldn't survive it, so the chances of my surviving it were less than slim," Mai continued. "But I didn't really care—I don't think I could live without you, and if that meant I had to die in order to save you, I'd gladly do so."

"Mai," Ryu whispered, touched and shocked that she would go to such lengths just to keep him alive. A couple of moments of silence followed.

Mai was the one to break the silence, saying, "You know, when I took that attack in your place and had resigned myself to death, my only regret was that I hadn't gotten around to doing one thing."

Ryu, curious, asked "What one thing was that?"

Mai smiled mischievously, her left hand reaching out to grab the back of Ryu's head and pulling him closer to her. In the barest of whispers she said, "This," before closing her eyes and touching her lips to his.

Ryu's eyes widened in shock. Mai was kissing him. And it was a full-on lip lock of a kiss. This was _**not**_ something that he'd expected…. This… this…

This felt so….

Ryu's eyes closed as well as he melted into the kiss (partially from surprised shock and partially from pleasure), his arms gently encircling her waist even as her arms wrapped around the back of his neck. Mai's tongue tapped against his lips, asking for entry…

* * *

Outside the room, Aya Kobayashi smiled at the two as she quietly closed the door and walked away. She was glad for her sister, and was glad that things were going so well between those two.

As Aya headed to a private meeting with Chief Viletta—a meeting that Aya had to admit she was looking forward to—she silently wished Ryu and Mai the best of luck, and hoped they managed to find happiness together.

_**To be continued…**_


	3. Adoption Notice

Okay, I owe everyone interested in this story an apology.

When I first started this story, some, oh… one-and-a-half years ago?

Right, when I first started this, I had great plans for it, involving Ryusei finally realizing his feelings for Mai Kobayashi, and finally getting him into a relationship with her, but only after she almost died saving his life during the fight with the Neo Granzon at the end of OG Gaiden.

Rpgingmaster was a big help, writing what I could not and helping make sure I stayed within the realm of believability.

I finished Part 2, and had a fairly decent idea of what I wanted to do for the rest of the story, and even had an opening scene for Part 3 lined up.

Then my muse switched her attentions away.

Honestly, between all my other projects, school, and my various video games, I have not had a single idea for this story for well over a year.

I really wanted to finish it myself, but I don't think I'll be able to.

As such, I am placing this fic up for adoption.

If you want to take it up, please send me a PM, and I'll work on getting you the materials I have, as well as the plans I had for future chapters.

Again, my apologies for not being able to finish this, and feel free to PM me if you want to take it up yourself.

Later, everyone! :)

Takeshi Yamato  
Azure Knight of the Raging Tempest


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